Jessica Taylor is Director of Post-Secondary Initiatives at the Steans Family Foundation. In this role, her work focuses on creating and strengthening post-secondary pathways to ensure success for North Chicago students, bridging the gap between existing job readiness training, earn-and-learn opportunities, and other workforce programs in the North Chicago community.
Yolanda Lawler is Program Officer for Steans Family Foundation’s North Lawndale initiatives. In her role, Yolanda works with community-based organizations to increase the number of North Lawndale children, aged birth to five years-old, who are prepared to be successful in Kindergarten.
Patricia Ford is a long-time advocate for quality education on behalf of children in urban school systems. Pat is a Chicago native with more than 25 years of experience in the field of education, organizing and community development.
Marissa Filippo, Grants and Project Manager for the Steans Family Foundation, supports internal and external projects that span across the Foundation’s work in North Lawndale, North Chicago and Policy & Ecosystem program areas.
Allison serves as the Director of Policy for the Steans Family Foundation, where she leads a portfolio of policy and ecosystem work across multiple issue areas including education, employment, and community development. In this role, she works to build upon the Foundation’s place-based approach in North Lawndale and North Chicago, addressing local and statewide systemic issues that impede or support the healthy development of individuals and communities.